Medical Knowledge
Medical students must demonstrate as measured by internal and national-based examinations and skills assessments that they have a firm grasp of the clinical sciences and the basic sciences that underpin medicine; and as well the ability to apply that knowledge appropriately in the clinical setting. Medical students are expected to:
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of the basic and clinical sciences
- Demonstrate proficient clinical skills in the taking of a patient history and in carrying out a physical examination
- Demonstrate an analytic thinking approach to clinical situations
- Demonstrate cultural competence in dealing with patients and their families
Patient Care
Medical Students must be able to provide supervised patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health. Medical Students are expected to:
- Communicate effectively and demonstrate caring and respectful behaviors when interacting with patients and their families
- Gather essential and accurate information about their patients
- Develop patient treatment and management plans
- Counsel and educate patients and their families
- Perform competently those medical procedures considered essential for their education
- Provide health care services aimed at preventing health problems or maintaining health
- Work with health care professionals, including those from other disciplines, to provide patient-focused care
Professionalism
Medical students must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles, and sensitivity to a diverse patient population. Medical Students are expected to:
- Demonstrate respect, compassion, and integrity; a responsiveness to the needs of patients and society that supersedes self-interest; accountability to patients, society, and the profession; and a commitment to excellence and on-going professional development
- Demonstrate a commitment to ethical principles pertaining to the provision of clinical care, confidentiality of patient information, and informed consent
- Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to patients’ culture, age, sexual orientation, gender, and disabilities
- Dress in a manner consistent with that of a medical professional
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Medical Students must demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in effective information exchange and teaming with patients, their patients’ families, and professional associates. Medical students are expected to:
- Create a therapeutically and ethically sound interaction with patients
- Use effective verbal and non-verbal listening skills to elicit appropriate information and communicate effectively in writing
- Work effectively with others as a member of a health care team
- Effectively communicate with a patient’s family and other health care professionals
Medical Informatics
Medical students must be able to efficiently consult the scientific literature as a means of optimizing patient care. Medical students are expected to:
- Carry out computerized medical literature searches as a means of leaning about patients’ diseases, and the most sound and proven effective therapeutic interventions grounded in evidence based medicine
- Determine what information is usable based on various patient findings
- Convey their findings in a coherent manner to their attending physicians and residents
- Use information technology to manage information and support their own education
- Stay current with the latest information technology as it relates to medicine
- Develop life-long learning skills
Population Health and Preventive Medicine
Medical students must be cognizant of the association between the health of their patients and that of the population at large and this understanding must be grounded in a solid knowledge base and appreciation of the principles of disease prevention. Medical students are expected to
- Understand the importance of preventive medicine in disease avoidance and convey to their patients the central importance of prevention as a preference to treatment of disease
- Extrapolate the disease findings of their patients with disease prevalence locally and nationally
- Understand the impact of complementary and alternative medical practices on their patients
- Understand and importance of diet and exercise on disease prevention and health maintenance and be able to take a “nutrition history” of their patients
Practice-Based and Systems-Based Medical Care
Medical students must demonstrate an awareness of the larger context and system of health care. Medical students are expected to:
- Obtain and use information about their own population of patients and the larger population from which their patients are drawn
- Understand how patient care practices impact on the larger society and how elements of the larger system may impact on their future practice
- Participate in the education of their patients regarding their health care
- Know how types of medical practice and delivery systems differ from one another
- Understand the importance of providing cost effective health care that does not compromise quality